Visualization of spending data in an altered reality

ABSTRACT

Systems, methods, and non-transitory computer readable media for visualizing user spending data in an altered reality are provided. Spending data includes items purchased, budgets for specific rooms or categories, prices paid, dates of purchase, and amounts spent. The user may interact within the altered reality to manage spending and move budgets between rooms or categories.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

The present application is a continuation of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 16/407,409 filed May 9, 2019, which is a continuation of U.S.patent application Ser. No. 15/196,829 filed Jun. 29, 2016, now U.S.Pat. No. 10,289,261, issued May 14, 2019, all of which are incorporatedby reference herein in their entirety.

BACKGROUND

The present disclosure generally relates to interactive communicationsystems and, more particularly, to systems and methods to visualize userspending data in an altered reality.

In our fast paced economy, it is sometimes difficult for individuals tomanage money and maintain a constant record of their spending. As aresult, many often spend too much money or otherwise act irresponsiblywith their finances. In addition, overspending can also lead toincreased debt and zero savings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

FIG. 1 is a diagram of an illustrative communications environmentaccording to embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an illustrative mobile communicationsdevice according to embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 3A shows a virtual reality viewed through a viewing lens, accordingto certain illustrative embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 3B shows an augmented reality viewed through a viewing lens,according to certain illustrative embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 4A shows an augmented reality having a spending adjustment feature,according to certain illustrative embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 4B shows a virtual reality having a spending adjustment feature,according to certain illustrative embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 5 is a flow chart of a method to assist a user in making informedfinancial decisions, according to certain illustrative methods of thepresent disclosure.

FIG. 6 is a schematic view illustrating an embodiment of a computingsystem for use with the present disclosure.

Embodiments of the present disclosure and their advantages are bestunderstood by referring to the detailed description that follows. Itshould be appreciated that like reference numerals are used to identifylike elements illustrated in one or more of the figures, whereinshowings therein are for purposes of illustrating embodiments of thepresent disclosure and not for purposes of limiting the same.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF ILLUSTRATIVE EMBODIMENTS

The detailed description set forth below, in connection with theappended drawings, is intended as a description of variousconfigurations and is not intended to represent the only configurationsin which the concepts described herein may be practiced. The detaileddescription includes specific details for the purpose of providing athorough understanding of the various concepts. However, it will beapparent to those ordinarily skilled in the art having the benefit ofthis disclosure that these concepts may be practiced without thesespecific details. In some instances, well-known structures andcomponents are shown in block diagrammatical form in order to avoidobscuring such concepts.

The present disclosure provides systems, methods, and non-transitorycomputer readable media for visualizing and interactively managing userspending data in an altered reality. The altered reality may be avirtual reality, augmented reality, or a combination of the two. Thevirtual reality is one in which the system replicates a desiredenvironment and simulates a user's physical presence to allow for userinteraction within that environment. An augmented reality is a live viewof a real-world environment whose elements are augmented (orsupplemented) by a system-generated input of sound, video, graphics,data, etc. Using the altered reality view, a user is able to viewspending history and budgets based on locations within a house, office,building, or other location. For example, a kitchen view may represent akitchen budget, such as shown with bills and/or numbers, and itemspurchased, such as shown by images and/or text. When an item ispurchased for the kitchen, the item may appear in the updated alteredreality view of the kitchen, and the representation of the kitchenbudget may be reduced by the amount of the purchase. As such, the useris able to easily view spend various spending and budgets.

The user is able to interact with the contents of the altered reality tomanage spending and budgets. For example, the user may move an item fromone “room” to another, which would increase the budget of the room fromwhich the item originated and decrease the budget of the destinationroom. Images of budget (such as currency or bills) can be moved fromroom to room to increase and/or decrease budgets as desired. Movementcan be with a finger gesture (e.g., a swipe) or eye gesture (e.g., eyemovement from one room to another).

The altered reality views of the rooms can correspond to actual rooms orlocations associated with the user. For example, a user may have atwo-story 3 bedroom, 2 bath house, with a family room, living room,kitchen, garage, and den. The altered reality view may have the samenumber and designation of rooms in the approximate same layout.Alternatively, the altered reality view may correspond to “fictional”rooms the user creates to correspond to categories of budgets and/orpurchases. For example, a user may create rooms for a vacation budget, aclothes budget, a food budget, a bridal shower budget, and a holidaybudget. This can be advantageous when it may be difficult to havebudgets and/or items allocated to actual rooms or locations associatedwith the user. Thus, as referenced herein, altered reality of thelocation (e.g., room, house, etc.) can correspond to an actual physicallocation or a fictional location.

In a generalized method of the present disclosure, user spending data isacquired by a computer system. The spending data may include, forexample, the amount of money spent by the user on certain merchantitems, information about the purchased items, date item was purchased,merchant item was purchased from, how the item was purchased (e.g.,cash, credit, payments, with coupons, etc.), and the like. After thedata is acquired, the system generates a visualization of the spendingdata in an altered reality. The visualization may be a virtual realityrepresenting a house or other building the user could enter, where eachroom represents a different spending category. Alternatively, thevisualization may be an augmented reality of a room in which the user ispresented positioned, whereby merchant items are overlaid with spendingdata. The visualization is then displayed to the user via some interfacesuch as, for example, GOOGLE® glasses, a mobile device display, or someother interface. For example, the kitchen may include representations ofthe user's food or grocery spending. Within the altered reality kitchenviewed via the user interface, the user may see stacked money or food,virtual reality representations of SKUs purchased over a time period,money spent compared to others as a scale, or some other altered realityspending visualization. Accordingly, money and other spending-relateddata is made more user-tangible using altered reality. As a result, theuser is able to make more informed financial decisions. In oneembodiment, the content appearing in the altered reality display may beinteracted with by the user, such as through a swipe or drag and dropaction. Such actions may cause other content to be altered, such asbudgets, amounts, and items associated with a particular room orlocation. Thus, the user is able to easily (and more enjoyably) manageand adjust budgets through the interactive altered reality display.

Referring now to FIG. 1 , an embodiment of an exemplary communicationsenvironment 100 is illustrated. The communications environment 100 mayinclude a number of mobile communications devices 102, one or morenetworks 108, and a global navigation satellite system (“GNSS”) 110 orother mobile device location detection systems. The communicationsenvironment 100 illustrated in FIG. 1 is simplified for the sake ofillustration.

The communications environment 100 may support operation on multiplecarriers (e.g., waveform signals of different frequencies for wirelesscommunications, or wired communications). As an example, thecommunications environment 100 may be a multi-carrier LTE networkcapable of efficiently allocating network resources. The communicationsenvironment 100 is one example of a network to which various aspects ofthe disclosure apply.

The communications environment 100 includes one or more mobilecommunications devices 102, illustrated in FIG. 1 as mobilecommunications devices 102 a, 102 b, and 102 c. The mobilecommunications devices 102 a/102 b/102 c may be, for example, UserEquipments (“Ues”). The mobile communications devices 102 a/102 b/102 cmay each also be referred to as a terminal, a mobile station, asubscriber unit, etc. A mobile communications device 102 may be acellular phone, GOOGLE® glasses or some other viewing lens, asmartphone, a personal digital assistant, a wireless modem, a laptopcomputer, a tablet computer, a tag (e.g., RFID tag), etc., to name justa few examples. The mobile communications devices 102 a/102 b/102 c maybe location-aware, for example by including circuitry and/or software toenable the mobile communications devices 102 a/102 b/102 c to determinetheir own locations.

For example, one or more of the mobile communications devices 102 a/102b/102 c may include circuitry and/or software that enable them to be incommunication with the GNSS 110 in order to determine location. The GNSS110 may be, for example, the Global Positioning System (“GPS”), Galileo,GLONASS, BeiDou, or some other such system that enables the mobilecommunications devices 102 a/102 b/102 c to determine geolocationinformation from signals provided by individual satellites of the GNSS110. The circuitry and/or software of mobile communications devices 102a/102 b/102 c may additionally or alternatively enable locationdetermination based on other parameters, such as base stationtriangulation, time of flight measurements, etc. Location determinationmay be beneficial to determine where items were purchased. In addition,location determination may aid in presenting the user with anappropriate location view of the altered reality location. For example,if the user is determined, through the user device, to be at the user'swork, the altered reality presented to the user may default to theoffice rooms, as opposed to, say, the user's home.

The mobile communications devices 102 a/102 b/102 c may communicate witheach other (as well as other devices) via one or more connections. Forexample, the mobile communications device 102 a may be capable ofestablishing a peer-to-peer (“P2P”) session 104 with one or both of themobile communications devices 102 b and 102 c. Similarly, the mobilecommunications device 102 b may be capable of establishing apeer-to-peer session 104 with one or both of the mobile communicationsdevices 102 a and 102 c. Similarly, the mobile communications device 102c may be capable of establishing a peer-to-peer session 104 with one orboth of the mobile communications devices 102 a and 102 b.

For example, the mobile communications devices 102 a/102 b/102 c may becapable of (e.g., includes one or more associated transceivers for)linking to each other via device-to-device (“D2D”) links, such that theP2P sessions 104 may constitute D2D links. As another example, themobile communications devices 102 a/102 b/102 c may be capable of (e.g.,includes one or more associated transceivers for) connecting viaBluetooth or near field communications (“NFC”) with each other, to namejust a few examples. The mobile communications devices 102 a/102 b/102 cmay all establish the same types of P2P sessions 104 with each other(e.g., all using the same linking technology/protocols), oralternatively may use a variety of technologies/protocols in order toestablish the P2P sessions 104 in the communications environment 100.

Alternatively, one or more of the mobile communications devices 102a/102 b/102 c may establish connections to each other via the network108. For example, the mobile communications device 102 a may establishthe connection 106 a with the network 108, the mobile communicationsdevices 102 b may establish the connection 106 b with the network 108,and the mobile communications device 102 c may establish the connection106 c with the network 108. For example, the mobile communicationsdevice 102 a may communicate with mobile communications device 102 b,via the network 108, by way of the connections 106 a and 106 b (e.g.,the connection 106 a constitutes an uplink to the network 108 and theconnection 106 b a downlink from the network 108). Similarly, the mobilecommunications device 102 may communicate with mobile communicationsdevice 102 c, via the network 108, by way of connections 106 a and 106c. Similar examples apply with respect to the other mobilecommunications devices 102 b and 102 c.

The network 108 may be, for example, a core network, an access network,other network, and/or any combination of networks. The network 108 mayinclude one or more base stations. For example, one or more the basestations may include an evolved Node B (“eNodeB”). A base station mayalso be referred to as a base transceiver station or an access point.There could be one to many base stations, as well as an assortment ofdifferent types such as macro, pico, and/or femto base stations. Thebase stations may also communicate with one another directly orindirectly, such as via network 108. The network 108 may be an LTEnetwork or a WiFi network, to name just a few examples. The mobilecommunications devices 102 may use the network 108 to communicate dataaccording to embodiments of the present disclosure. The mobilecommunications devices 102 may use one or more elements of the network108 to discover each other, while in other embodiments the mobilecommunications devices 102 may discover each other through NFC orBluetooth ad-hoc connections for initial session negotiation andcontinue communication via NFC or Bluetooth, or alternatively vianetwork 108.

One exemplary embodiment of the mobile communications devices 102 isdepicted in FIG. 2 . In FIG. 2 , the mobile communication devices 102include a transceiver 202, a memory 204, a processor 206, a userinterface 208, a data store 210, a location determination system 212,and an altered reality engine 214. These elements may be in direct orindirect communication with each other, for example via one or morebuses.

The transceiver 202 may include a modem subsystem and a radio frequency(“RF”) unit and be configured to communicate bi-directionally with otherdevices, such as, for example, other mobile communications devices 102,network 108, and/or network database storage locations. The memory 204may include a cache memory (e.g., a cache memory of the processor 206),random access memory (“RAM”), magnetoresistive RAM (“MRAM”), read-onlymemory (“ROM”), programmable read-only memory (“PROM”), erasableprogrammable read only memory (“EPROM”), electrically erasableprogrammable read only memory (“EEPROM”), flash memory, solid statememory device, hard disk drives, other forms of volatile andnon-volatile memory, or a combination of different types of memory. Inan embodiment, the memory 204 includes a non-transitorycomputer-readable medium.

The memory 204 may store instructions that, when executed by theprocessor 206, cause the processor 206 to perform the operationsdescribed herein in connection with embodiments of the presentdisclosure. Instructions may also be referred to as code. The terms“instructions” and “code” may include any type of computer-readablestatement(s). For example, the terms “instructions” and “code” may referto one or more programs, routines, sub-routines, functions, procedures,etc. “Instructions” and “code” may include a single computer-readablestatement or many computer-readable statements.

The processor 206 may include a central processing unit (“CPU”), adigital signal processor (“DSP”), an application-specific integratedcircuit (“ASIC”), a controller, a field programmable gate array (“FPGA”)device, another hardware device, a firmware device, or any combinationthereof configured to perform the operations described herein anddiscussed in more detail below. The processor 206 may also beimplemented as a combination of computing devices, e.g., a combinationof a DSP and a microprocessor, a plurality of microprocessors, one ormore microprocessors in conjunction with a DSP core, or any other suchconfiguration. The processor 206 may be a single processor or multipleprocessors, where each processor may have one or more processing corescapable of parallel and/or sequential operation.

The user interface 208 may include an input component and an outputcomponent. For example, the user interface 208 may include a touchscreeninterface that outputs data for visual use as well as receives/processesone or more touches/swipes/gestures and merchant spending data, etc. tobe potentially interpreted according to embodiments of the presentdisclosure such as discussed with respect to altered reality engine 214.Further, the user interface 208 may be used to display one or moreoverlays, notifications, elements of information, and application dataaccording to embodiments of the present disclosure. The user interface208 may also include one or more lights (e.g., LEDs) separate from atouchscreen, a vibration generator, a speaker, a microphone, input for amouse, input for a keyboard, etc. useful for providing feedback to auser as well as receiving further input therefrom. In yet otherembodiments as described below, user interface 208 acts as a screen todisplay a virtual reality in which spending data is shown, while inother embodiments user interface 208 is a viewing lens through which auser may view an augmented reality having spending data overlaidthereon.

The data store 210 may be, for example, a hard drive, flash drive,storage array, or other type of storage. The data store 210 may storenotifications, transferred information, location information, mapinformation, and/or update information (e.g., as an “app”). Moreover, inother embodiments, the data store 210 includes data reflecting thespending of a user at various merchant locations (i.e., user spendingdata).

In an embodiment, the location determination system 212 may include oneor more transceivers to enable communication with the GNSS 110illustrated in FIG. 1 . The mobile communications devices 102 a/102b/102 c may further include assisted-GPS for enhanced signalacquisition/location quality.

Altered reality engine 214 may include its own processing circuitry orcommunicate data to/from processor 206 in order to enable visualizationof user spending data in an altered reality, as described herein. Ingeneral, communications device 102 acquires user spending data from aremote or local storage unit (e.g., data store 210). The spending datareflects money spent on various merchant items (e.g., food, clothing,etc.), as well as money budgeted for certain categories of spending.Once acquired, processor 206, via altered reality engine 214, generatesa visualization of the spending data in an altered reality. The alteredreality may be a virtual reality or an augmented reality viewed via userinterface 208. If a virtual reality is generated, user interface 208 mayact as a display screen in which a virtual reality is displayed showinga visualization of the spending data. If an augmented reality isgenerated, user interface 208 may act as a viewing lens (e.g., GOOGLE®glasses or camera phone display) through which the user views theirsurrounding environment having their spending data overlaid thereon.

For example, in certain embodiments, the altered reality is a househaving a plurality of rooms. Each room of the house represents adifferent category of spending. The kitchen may represent spending onfood items, while the bedrooms represent spending on clothing fordifferent members of the household. The family rooms may includevisualizations representing spending on entertainment. The spending datamay be visualized as symbols, pictures, or numbers representing theamount a user has spent on items contained in the altered reality, aswell as other spending information such as date of purchase, type ofpurchase (e.g., cash or credit), etc. For example, stacked dollar bills,apples, soda, jeans, shirts, or other items may be used to identifyspending on items typically found in the kitchen and bedrooms. The itemsand/or budget may be for a specific time period, such as the mostcurrent month or other designation by the user or system. For example,if the user has a budget for kids toys from January 1 to December 31,purchases throughout the year will be represented in the alteredreality. In contrast, if the user also has a budget for a vacation fromJanuary 1 to March 31, only purchases and budget representations duringthat period will be shown.

The spending data may also include funds budgeted for certain categoriesof spending (i.e., budget data). The budget data may be visualized,which may vary from location to location, within the house or building.Budget data may include currency or other visual content correspondingto the budget amount. Budget data may change based on user input, e.g.,the user may have a certain monthly budget for kitchen supplies, whichcan be changed or kept the same. When items are purchased from aspecific budget, that budget data may be adjusted (e.g., decreased bythe amount of the purchase). In addition, funds from one budget may bemoved to another budget. For example, the user may transfer funds orpurchased items from the living room budget to the bedroom budget orvice versa. The transfer may be accomplished using a swipe or drag anddrop motion, for example. Once the funds or items have been transferred,the budget data for each room is adjusted accordingly. In certainembodiments, the transfer feature may be visualized as a building (e.g.,home) split into a plurality of rooms, along with budget data for eachroom. The user may then move the budget data from room to room asdesired.

With reference back to FIG. 1 , different users spending data may beacquired using mobile communications devices 102 a-c, P2P sessions 104,and communications links 106. The spending data may be compiled by somecentral server, then communicated to the various communications devices102 a-c; alternatively, the spending data may be communicated betweencommunications devices 102 a-c via P2P sessions 104. Thus, in certainembodiments, the spending data of one or more users may be updated inreal-time by the communication devices 102, thus allowing the display ofthe group spending data in the altered reality in real-time.

In an illustrative method of the present disclosure, a user may purchasean item from a merchant via user interface 208 as part of a paymenttransaction whereby the communications device 102 is used as a paymentterminal. The payment transactions may also take place with the aid ofan on-line or mobile payment service provider such as, for example,PayPal, Inc. of San Jose, Calif. Using item identification (e.g., aStock Keeping Unit (“SKU”) number), for example, communications device102 identifies the item being purchased and the corresponding amount,along with the merchant location. Thereafter, if the item were oranges,communications device 102 generates a virtual reality of a kitchenshowing the oranges, along with some representation of the amount spenton oranges and other data as desired, such as date of purchase and wherethe oranges were purchased. Alternatively, for example, communicationsdevice may generate an augmented reality whereby, when the user entershis kitchen and looks at an orange through user interface 208 (e.g.,viewing lens), he sees the amount spent on oranges overlaid atop theoranges. Note that while spending data is described herein as amountspent, spending data can also include other information, such as datepurchased, merchant name, type of payment used, person's name who madethe purchase, etc.

FIG. 3A shows a virtual reality viewed through a viewing lens, accordingto certain illustrative embodiments of the present disclosure. Forsimplicity of discussion, reference will be made to communicationsdevice 102 to include any of mobile communications devices 102 a-c fromFIG. 1 above, where the mobile communications device 102 is incommunication with database storage in network 108 and/or other mobilecommunications devices 102. This is for simplicity of discussion only.In this example, viewing lens 300 forms part of a communications device102. Viewing lens 300 may be, for example, a pair of GOOGLE® glasseshaving lenses 302 a and 302 b. Here, communications device 102 hasgenerated a virtual reality of a mountain landscape 306 having varioustypes of user spending data visualized therein. In this example, thespending data is visualized as a goals overlay 304 a where the user hasset a goal to visit Yosemite Park and France. Overlay 304 a displaysicons showing the user's extra cash of $156.00, $250.00 saved toward theYosemite vacation, and $0.00 saved toward the France vacation. Alsodisplayed is an overlay 304 b which shows that the $250.00 represents50% of the total costs needed for the Yosemite vacation. In addition,overlay 304 b includes a clear image of the mountain landscape, whilemountain landscape 306 shown through lenses 302 a,b is opaque. Incertain embodiments, as the user saves more toward the full costs of theYosemite vacation, mountain landscape 306 becomes clearer and clearer,thus giving the user a visual confirmation that the financial goal hasbeen met.

Still referring to FIG. 3A, another overlay 308 is used to visualize thebalance of the user's account. Here, communications device 102 may beused as a payment terminal having direct access to one or more useraccounts. Also, overlay 308 includes icons to transfer money to otheraccounts (including the vacation accounts) and/or otherwise manage theuser's accounts. In addition, overlay 308 includes the transactionhistory of the displayed account, whereby the user can see his or herspending in real-time. Note, however, that in alternate embodiments, thevirtual reality visualization of the spending data of FIG. 3A may bevisualized in an augmented reality.

FIG. 3B shows an augmented reality viewed through a viewing lens,according to certain illustrative embodiments of the present disclosure.FIG. 3B is similar to FIG. 3A, thus like elements refer to likeelements. However, FIG. 3B illustrates an augmented reality 310 of auser's bedroom. Here, for example, the user has entered his house andwalked into his bedroom and now views the bedroom through viewing lens300. A number of overlays are positioned in augmented reality 310.Overlay 312 visualizes spending data corresponding to utility usage. Asshown, overlay 312 includes a pointer encircling the bedroom lamp 313.Overlay 312 includes current electric usage for the user of $83.10, inaddition to the prior month's electric bill of $77.11. In addition, anoverlay 314 visualizes a spending data category corresponding to “Janes‘Fun’ money.” Jane has purchased a pillow 320 positioned on the bedusing her “Fun money.” Overlay 314 includes the date the pillow waspurchased, along with the price of $34.16. In addition, overlay 314 alsoshows money spent on DVDs.

Still referring to FIG. 3B, another overlay 316 points to a catpositioned on the bed. Overlay 316 visualizes the spending datacorresponding to the cat, including the price for a checkup at the localvet of $39.00 and the price for a cat water dish of $68.31 (and the nameof the merchant). In addition, augmented reality 310 further includes anoverlay 318 visualizing spending data related to a user balance of$342.19 in his or her account, along with the transaction history.Various other overlays may be included. As the user scans the room, theoverlays may appear automatically or after the user has focused on acertain area in the augmented reality for a defined period of time.

In yet other illustrative embodiments, the spending visualizations mayinclude information to assist the user in reducing spending on itemsshown in the altered reality. For example, communications device 102 (inFIG. 3B) may generate an overlay listing coupons on cat related items orpillows, in addition to alternative pricing arrangements at otherelectric providers. In other embodiments, links to financial educationvideos may also be overlaid into the altered reality. Also, in otherembodiments, communications device 102 may generate visualizations ofspending data representing the remaining allotment of some amountbudgeted by the user. For example, if the user has budgeted $300/mo. oncat-related items, the system will display the amount remaining of thatbudget (determined by subtracting cat-related items already purchasedthat month). Other items may be budgeted, such as, for example, athleticwear or shoes. Any variety of spending data that positively ornegatively motivates the user to or away from some financial goal,respectively, may be implemented in the present disclosure.

Moreover, in the embodiments of FIG. 3A or 3B, the user may manipulatethe overlays (e.g., scroll up/down within an overlay, reposition anoverlay, minimize an overlay, etc.) in a variety of ways. For example,the user may move his hand across the augmented reality of FIG. 3B tomanipulate the overlays. In a virtual reality-based embodiment, the usermay touch the screen to manipulate the overlays. In other embodiments,the user may use various other gestures to manipulate the overlays.

FIG. 4A shows an augmented reality viewed through a viewing lens,according to certain illustrative embodiments of the present disclosure.For simplicity of discussion, reference will be made to communicationsdevice 102 to include any of mobile communications devices 102 a-c fromFIG. 1 above, where the mobile communications device 102 is incommunication with database storage in network 108 and/or other mobilecommunications devices 102. This is for simplicity of discussion only.

In this example, viewing lens 400 forms part of a communications device102. Viewing lens 400 may be, for example, a pair of GOOGLE® glasseshaving lenses 402 a and 402 b. Here, through viewing lens 400, a user isviewing a sofa in the living room having a pillow 408 thereon—inaugmented reality 406. Communications device 102 has generated anaugmented reality of the sofa having various types of user spending datavisualized thereon. In this example, the spending data is visualized asa Financial Impact overlay 404 a showing a “living room” category andthe total cost $5,656 for living room accessories therein. In thisexample, the user has selected to turn on the “object selection”feature, whereby the user is allowed to focus the cursor on an item andview its spending data. For example, the user may focus the cursor on ablender and see various details about the item, such as the spendingcategory of the blender (e.g., kitchen), amount paid for the blender,data purchased, or current sales on similar blenders. The user may alsobe given the option of ordering another blender, specifying a shippingaddress, reorganizing a category listing, or moving funds or the item toanother category or room. In certain other embodiments, the system maygenerate a popup saying “sell on eBay” or “sell on Craig's List,” etc.,which would allow the user to list the blender for sale on these orsimilar sites. In the illustrated example, since pillow 408 is beingviewed through lens 400, overlay 404 a includes an icon showing theprice $12.99 for pillow 408, along with the website where it waspurchased (ArtsyPillows.com/Gradient Pillow). Below this icon is anoption menu whereby the user can choose whether to order something fromArtsyPillows.com or to remove the order from the living room category.

Still referencing FIG. 4A, overlay 404 a also gives the user the choiceto move items or funds from room to room. As seen at the bottom ofoverlay 404 a, an icon is shown as “move to different room.” Whenselected, a corresponding overlay 404 b appears entitled “move todifferent room.” Overlay 404 b provides the ability to move an item(e.g., ArtsyPillows.com pillow) from the living room to the office room.In addition, the system adjusts the budgets (i.e., spending data) amount$5,656 and $12,976.80, respectively, of the living room and office roomto take into account the price of the pillow. In certain alternativeembodiments, funds corresponding to the remaining budgeted allotment (ora portion thereof) for a certain room may be transferred to anotherroom. Although the transfer of one item or funds from room to room maybe accomplished in a variety of ways, in this example, the transfer isaccomplished by a hand swipe in a defined direction. In addition,augmented reality 406 further includes an overlay 410 visualizingspending data related to a user balance of $342.19 in his or heraccount, along with the transaction history, as previously described.

FIG. 4B shows a virtual reality viewed through a user interface,according to certain illustrative embodiments of the present disclosure.In this example, the user interface may be a touch screen of a mobiledevice. Nevertheless, a virtual house 420 is shown having 4 separaterooms. Room 422 represents a kitchen, room 424 represents a living room,room 426 represents a bedroom, and room 428 represents another bedroom.A number of overlays 430, 432, 434, and 436 are used to visualize thespending data in each respective room. The overlays 430-436 may take avariety of forms as described herein, such as, for example, overlays 404a and 404 b of FIG. 4A. Here, each overlay 430-436 may be moved to anyother room in like manner to that of FIG. 4A, whereby the system thenadjusts the spending data of each room respectively. Arrows 438represent the movement directions of overlay 430, arrows 440 representthe movement directions of overlay 432, arrows 442 represent themovement directions of overlay 434, and arrows 444 represent themovement directions of overlay 436. The movement may be accomplished ina variety of ways, including, for example, a touch gesture or hand swipemotion.

Turning now to FIG. 5 , a flow chart illustrates a method 500 thatassists a user in making informed financial decisions, according tocertain illustrative methods of the present disclosure. Method 500 willbe described with respect to a mobile communications device 102 forsimplicity of discussion. It is understood that additional steps can beprovided before, during, and after the steps of method 500, and thatsome of the steps described can be replaced or eliminated for otherembodiments of the method 500.

At block 502, mobile communications device 102 establishes a merchanttransaction session whereby spending data is acquired from a user. Thespending data corresponds to one or more purchased items and may beacquired in a variety of ways, such as, for example, when mobilecommunications device 102 is used as a payment terminal, as describedherein. Once the spending data is acquired, the device determines acategory in which the item belongs. For example, if mouthwash werepurchased, the device determines this belongs in the bathroom category.Thereafter, the device accesses or generates an altered reality of theuser's home, for example. Once accessed, the device then determines thesub-location inside the home corresponding to mouthwash is the bathroom.At block 504, mobile communications device 102 (or some remoteprocessor) then generates a visualization of the spending data in thealtered reality (e.g., the bathroom). The visualization may be a virtualor augmented reality, for example, having spending data visualizedtherein.

The visualization may be a room in a building, such as a house, whereinthe spending data for items in each respective room is displayed atblock 506. The user spending data may be historical or real-time data,and may be comprised of individual data or group data (e.g., familyspending). In the latter example, as family members spend on varioushousehold items, the system automatically updates the spending data foreach room so that each member may view the data on their respectivecommunications devices. Accordingly, each user is provided informationto assist them in making more informed financial decisions. Thevisualization may be for certain time periods, such as the currentmonth, the current year, or any other time period specified by the user.Items that are sold or returned may also be indicated and spending dataadjusted accordingly, such as by adding back an amount equal to the saleor return.

Referring now to FIG. 6 an embodiment of a computer system 600 suitablefor implementing, for example, the mobile communications devices, mobileor other user devices, servers, etc., is illustrated. It should beappreciated that other devices utilized by users, payment serviceproviders, point of sale operators, and/or merchants/stores in thesystem discussed above may be implemented as the computer system 600 ina manner as follows.

In accordance with various embodiments of the present disclosure,computer system 600, such as a mobile device, computer and/or a server,includes a bus 602 or other communication mechanism for communicatinginformation, which interconnects subsystems and components, such as aprocessing component 604 (e.g., processor, micro-controller, DSP, etc.),a system memory component 606 (e.g., RAM), a static storage component608 (e.g., ROM), a disk drive component 610 (e.g., magnetic or optical),a network interface component 612 (e.g., modem or Ethernet card), adisplay component 614 (e.g., CRT or LCD), an input component 618 (e.g.,keyboard, keypad, or virtual keyboard), a cursor control component 620(e.g., mouse, pointer, or trackball), a location determination component622 (e.g., a Global Positioning System (GPS) device as illustrated, acell tower triangulation device, and/or a variety of other locationdetermination devices known in the art), and/or a camera component 623.In one implementation, the disk drive component 610 may comprise adatabase having one or more disk drive components.

In accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure, the computersystem 600 performs specific operations by the processor 604 executingone or more sequences of instructions contained in the memory component606, such as described herein with respect to the mobile communicationsdevices, mobile devices, and/or servers. Such instructions may be readinto the system memory component 606 from another computer readablemedium, such as the static storage component 608 or the disk drivecomponent 610. In other embodiments, hard-wired circuitry may be used inplace of or in combination with software instructions to implement thepresent disclosure.

Logic may be encoded in a computer readable medium, which may refer toany medium that participates in providing instructions to the processor604 for execution. Such a medium may take many forms, including but notlimited to, non-volatile media, volatile media, and transmission media.In one embodiment, the computer readable medium is non-transitory. Invarious implementations, non-volatile media includes optical or magneticdisks, such as the disk drive component 610, volatile media includesdynamic memory, such as the system memory component 606, andtransmission media includes coaxial cables, copper wire, and fiberoptics, including wires that comprise the bus 602. In one example,transmission media may take the form of acoustic or light waves, such asthose generated during radio wave and infrared data communications.

Some common forms of computer readable media includes, for example,floppy disk, flexible disk, hard disk, magnetic tape, any other magneticmedium, CD-ROM, any other optical medium, punch cards, paper tape, anyother physical medium with patterns of holes, RAM, PROM, EPROM,FLASH-EPROM, any other memory chip or cartridge, carrier wave, or anyother medium from which a computer is adapted to read. In oneembodiment, the computer readable media is non-transitory.

In various embodiments of the present disclosure, execution ofinstruction sequences to practice the present disclosure may beperformed by the computer system 600. In various other embodiments ofthe present disclosure, a plurality of the computer systems 600 coupledby a communication link 624 to the network 108 (e.g., such as a LAN,WLAN, PTSN, and/or various other wired or wireless networks, includingtelecommunications, mobile, and cellular phone networks) may performinstruction sequences to practice the present disclosure in coordinationwith one another.

The computer system 600 may transmit and receive messages, data,information and instructions, including one or more programs (i.e.,application code) through the communication link 624 and the networkinterface component 612. The network interface component 612 may includean antenna, either separate or integrated, to enable transmission andreception via the communication link 624. Received program code may beexecuted by processor 604 as received and/or stored in disk drivecomponent 610 or some other non-volatile storage component forexecution.

Where applicable, various embodiments provided by the present disclosuremay be implemented using hardware, software, or combinations of hardwareand software. Also, where applicable, the various hardware componentsand/or software components set forth herein may be combined intocomposite components comprising software, hardware, and/or both withoutdeparting from the scope of the present disclosure. Where applicable,the various hardware components and/or software components set forthherein may be separated into sub-components comprising software,hardware, or both without departing from the scope of the presentdisclosure. In addition, where applicable, it is contemplated thatsoftware components may be implemented as hardware components andvice-versa.

Software, in accordance with the present disclosure, such as programcode and/or data, may be stored on one or more computer readablemediums. It is also contemplated that software identified herein may beimplemented using one or more general purpose or specific purposecomputers and/or computer systems, networked and/or otherwise. Whereapplicable, the ordering of various steps described herein may bechanged, combined into composite steps, and/or separated into sub-stepsto provide features described herein.

The foregoing disclosure is not intended to limit the present disclosureto the precise forms or particular fields of use disclosed. As such, itis contemplated that various alternate embodiments and/or modificationsto the present disclosure, whether explicitly described or impliedherein, are possible in light of the disclosure. Having thus describedembodiments of the present disclosure, persons of ordinary skill in theart having the benefit of this disclosure will recognize that changesmay be made in form and detail without departing from the scope of thepresent disclosure. Thus, the present disclosure is limited only by theclaims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A system, comprising: a non-transitory memory;and one or more hardware processors coupled to the non-transitory memoryand configured to read instructions from the non-transitory memory tocause the system to perform operations comprising: acquiring savingsdata corresponding to one or more savings goals set by a user;determining, based on the acquired savings data, an amount saved towardseach of the one or more savings goals set by the user; generating analtered reality including interactive visual representations of one ormore locations associated with the one or more savings goals, wherein atleast one characteristic of each of the interactive visualrepresentations is set based on the amount saved towards correspondingsavings goals associated with the interactive visual representations,and wherein the at least one characteristic comprises an imagecorresponding to each of the one or more locations; causing thegenerated altered reality to be displayed via a user interface; andcausing an icon to be presented in the generated altered realitydisplayed via the user interface, wherein a use of the icon to allocatefunds from an account balance of the user to one of the one or moresavings goals adjusts the image for a corresponding one of the one ormore locations in the generated altered reality.
 2. The system of claim1, wherein the acquired savings data is a baseline savings data, andwherein the operations further comprise: acquiring refreshed savingsdata corresponding to the one or more savings goals set by the user;determining that the refreshed savings data indicates a change in theamount saved towards at least one of the corresponding savings goals;modifying the at least one characteristic of the interactive visualrepresentations for the at least one of the corresponding savings goalsfor which the refreshed savings data indicates the change in the amountsaved; and propagating the modified at least one characteristic of theinteractive visual representations to the generated altered realitycaused to be displayed via the user interface.
 3. The system of claim 1,wherein the one or more savings goals correspond to one or more vacationlocations.
 4. The system of claim 3, wherein the image includes agraphical representation of the one or more vacation locationscorresponding to the one or more locations.
 5. The system of claim 4,wherein the at least one characteristic includes an opacity of thegraphical representation of the one or more vacation locations.
 6. Thesystem of claim 5, wherein the opacity of the graphical representationof a corresponding vacation location is reduced as the amount saved forthe corresponding vacation location increases towards a correspondingsavings goal.
 7. The system of claim 1, wherein the generated alteredreality further includes visual representations of a financial status ofthe user, the financial status including at least one of accountbalances or transaction history.
 8. A method, comprising: acquiringsavings data corresponding to one or more savings goals set by a user;determining, based on the acquired savings data, an amount saved towardseach of the one or more savings goals set by the user; generating analtered reality including interactive visual representations of one ormore locations associated with the one or more savings goals, wherein atleast one characteristic of each of the interactive visualrepresentations is set based on the amount saved towards correspondingsavings goals associated with the interactive visual representations,and wherein the at least one characteristic comprises an imagecorresponding to each of the one or more locations; causing thegenerated altered reality to be displayed via a user interface; andcausing a transfer option to be presented in the generated alteredreality displayed via the user interface, wherein a use of the transferoption to allocate funds from an account balance of the user to one ofthe one or more savings goals adjusts the image for a corresponding oneof the one or more locations in the generated altered reality.
 9. Themethod of claim 8, wherein the acquired savings data is a baselinesavings data, and wherein the method further comprises: acquiringrefreshed savings data corresponding to the one or more savings goalsset by the user; determining that the refreshed savings data indicates achange in the amount saved towards at least one of the correspondingsavings goals; modifying the at least one characteristic of theinteractive visual representations for the at least one of thecorresponding savings goals for which the refreshed savings dataindicates the change in the amount saved; and propagating the modifiedat least one characteristic of the interactive visual representations tothe generated altered reality caused to be displayed via the userinterface.
 10. The method of claim 8, wherein the one or more savingsgoals correspond to one or more vacation locations.
 11. The method ofclaim 10, wherein the image includes a graphical representation of theone or more vacation locations corresponding to the one or morelocations.
 12. The method of claim 11, wherein the at least onecharacteristic includes an opacity of the graphical representation ofthe one or more vacation locations.
 13. The method of claim 12, whereinthe opacity of the graphical representation of a corresponding vacationlocation is reduced as the amount saved for the corresponding vacationlocation increases towards a corresponding savings goal.
 14. The methodof claim 8, wherein the generated altered reality further includesvisual representations of a financial status of the user, the financialstatus including at least one of account balances or transactionhistory.
 15. A non-transitory computer-readable medium having storedthereon machine-readable instructions executable to cause a machine toperform operations comprising: acquiring savings data corresponding toone or more savings goals set by a user; determining, based on theacquired savings data, an amount saved towards each of the one or moresavings goals set by the user; generating an altered reality includinginteractive visual representations of one or more locations associatedwith the one or more savings goals, wherein at least one characteristicof each of the interactive visual representations is set based on theamount saved towards corresponding savings goals associated with theinteractive visual representations, and wherein the at least onecharacteristic comprises an image corresponding to each of the one ormore locations; causing the generated altered reality to be displayedvia a user interface; and causing an interface element to be presentedin the generated altered reality displayed via the user interface,wherein a use of the interface element to allocate funds from an accountbalance of the user to one of the one or more savings goals adjusts theimage for a corresponding one of the one or more locations in thegenerated altered reality.
 16. The non-transitory computer-readablemedium of claim 15, wherein the acquired savings data is a baselinesavings data, and wherein the operations further comprise: acquiringrefreshed savings data corresponding to the one or more savings goalsset by the user; determining that the refreshed savings data indicates achange in the amount saved towards at least one of the correspondingsavings goals; modifying the at least one characteristic of theinteractive visual representations for the at least one of thecorresponding savings goals for which the refreshed savings dataindicates the change in the amount saved; and propagating the modifiedat least one characteristic of the interactive visual representations tothe generated altered reality caused to be displayed via the userinterface.
 17. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15,wherein the one or more savings goals correspond to one or more vacationlocations.
 18. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 17,wherein the image includes a graphical representation of the one or morevacation locations corresponding to the one or more locations.
 19. Thenon-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 18, wherein the atleast one characteristic includes an opacity of the graphicalrepresentation of the one or more vacation locations.
 20. Thenon-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 19, wherein the opacityof the graphical representation of a corresponding vacation location isreduced as the amount saved for the corresponding vacation locationincreases towards a corresponding savings goal.